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Survivor Quote Contest: Win a Pink Range Bag

As National Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close, we are reminded that survivors come in all shapes and sizes. Yet they all share one distinguishing trait—the ability to overcome whatever challenges that may come their way.

Keeping in the pink spirit of October, we decided to hold a contest for the ladies. The prize you ask? Since there are more and more female gun enthusiasts out there, we decided that it should be a pink range bag from Bang Bang Boutique (pictured below).

All you have to do is comment below with your best survivor quote. Do you have a personal mantra? Share it with us and it could win you this chic piece of shooting gear.

There are just a few guidelines. You must be 18 and a U.S. resident. Also, all quotes have to be approved, so it might take a day for it to appear underneath this post. The deadline to enter is Nov. 22, 2011. We’ll be picking the winning quote and announcing the winner through our Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Kim Bortz, Bang Bang Boutique owner, explained that her passion for guns all started with a day at the range in January 2004. That was the very first time she fired one. And she discovered that she was a pretty good shot.

However, soon she realized that there was a distinct lack of shooting accessories tailored for women. “It seemed like my only choice was to suck it up and be one of the guys,” shares Kim.

But then inspiration hit. Coming across a lavender range bag, she decided that there had to more stuff out there for the markswoman. “Not just stuff that was girly, but stuff made for women’s specific needs. Shooting doesn’t need to be masculine – it can have a feminine side too,” she says.

So she started Bang Bang Boutique, an online store dedicated to serving the needs of the lady shooter.

This one is for the girls. Enter by Nov. 22, 2011 to win a pink range bag.

I wrote this letter to myself 6 months after my 2 year old son was diagnosed with Autism, I know it’s not a quote and very long, but I thought I would share anyway!

A letter from the me of June 2011, to the me of December 2010

Dear Stacy, Mother of Newly Diagnosed Autistic Son Nicholas,

I know you are staring down what looks to be an impossibly long road. I know it looks like an immovable mountain. It is not. I know you don’t believe me, but step by step you will climb until suddenly, without warning, you will look down. You will see how far you’ve come. You’ll breathe. I promise. You might even be able to take in the view.

You will doubt yourself. You won’t trust your instincts right away. You will be afraid that you don’t have the capacity to be what your son will need you to be. Worse, you’ll think that you don’t even know what he needs you to be. You do. I promise. You will.

you are so much stronger than you think you are. Trust me. I know you.

You will learn to ask for help. You’ll have to. It won’t be easy. You’ll forget sometimes, and Life will remind you.

You will blame yourself. You’ll think you should have done something different. You’ll be convinced that you should not have listened to other people. That you should have somehow gotten help earlier. Don’t let yourself live there for long.

You will dig deep and find reserves of energy you never would have believed you had. You will run on adrenaline and crash into dreamless sleep. But you will come through it. I swear, you will. You will find a rhythm.

You will question your faith.

You will never, ever take progress for granted. Every milestone met, no matter what the timing, will be cause for celebration. Every baby step will be a quantum leap.

You will examine and re-examine every one of your own insecurities. You will recognize some of your child’s challenges as your own.

You will come to understand that there are gifts in all of this. Tolerance, compassion, understanding. Precious, life altering gifts.

You will find the tools that you need. You will take bits and pieces of different theories and practices.
You will speak hesitantly at first, but you’ll find your voice. You will come to see that no one knows your child better than you do. You will respectfully listen to the experts in each field. You will value their experience and their knowledge. But you will ultimately remember that while they are the experts in science, you are the expert in your child.

You will think you can’t handle it. You will be wrong.

This is not an easy road, but its rewards are tremendous. You will be OK.

You will help your sweet boy be far better than OK. You will show him never ending love. You will cherish him and celebrate him for every last morsel of who he is. he will know that you are there for him every step of the way. you will teach him to believe in himself as you believe in him. He will amaze you Over and over again.

He will teach you far more about strength and perseverance than you will ever teach him. He will teach you to be stronger than you ever imagined you could be. He will teach you to never give up!

I have had family members who have found lumps in their breasts. Some have had the misfortune to have their breasts removed because of the awful beast called Cancer. But all are survivors because they were the ones to find the lumps.
Thankfully I, personally, have not been touched by cancer but the risk is always present. Be vigilant about self breast exminations! Touch the Ta Ta’s!

I never really consider myself a “survivor”. To me “survivor” implies I’m just scraping by. I like to think after all that has happened to me, I’m one of the lucky bastards who actually gets the right to say “no mister, I’m not surviving I’m living”. That is one of the amazing things about trauma, whether its cancer, sexual assault or something else, those who come out the other side never let a moment of this thing called life slip away ever again.

Survivor!!!! Was given only a 5% survival rate to live on August 28th. Here’s to kicking Lemierre’s Syndromes A$$ and living to brag about it because I choose to fight like a girl!!!! Woot. Medics are the ultimate warriors, we are trained to save your a$$, not kiss it!!!! Ooooorahhhhhh.

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” – Unknown